Greetings from E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

by Robert Santelli

Greetings from E Street celebrates the passionately loved group that has been entertaining the world for 35 years. Written with their cooperation, this fully illustrated informal biography combines rare photographs with 30 removable facsimiles of E Street memorabilia, including Bruce Springsteen's first business card and hand-written set list, and even two fabulous posters. Longtime band intimate Robert Santelli captures the ecstatic highs and devastating lows on the E Street Band's roller coaster ride to stardom. He follows the band from the early days in Asbury Park, New Jersey, to the critical acclaim of Born to Run , the mania of Born in the U.S.A. and international touring, and each member's unique projects. Throughout, the band's signature combination of friendship, humor, and stellar musicianship is revealed in stories, snapshots, and the ephemera of life of the road. Warm and personal, Greetings from E Street is a postcard from the most famous address in rock and roll.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

98 pages, Hardcover

Published September 28, 2006

About the author

Robert Santelli (born January 31, 1952) is the executive director of the Grammy Museum and former CEO/artistic director of the Experience Music Project. He is the author of nearly a dozen books and a contributor to magazines such as Rolling Stone.

Reviews

[Jenn Nunez · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a Springsteen fan you will enjoy this book...

A walk down memory lane to the early days of Jersey Shore bands & the journey Springsteen & his fellow E-Streeters made to the top. And lots of reproduced memorabilia stashed away in sleeves & pockets, so it's like opening little presents along the way! Each song mentioned got me singing the tune in my head while I was reading and I walked away with a small list of other books I want to snag & add to my growing pile of "to reads."

I was a little disappointed on how "light" the book ended considering how much meat there was in the earlier chapters. All in all, a good read, a fun read, a rockin' read.

I Heart Bruce even more! The man is a Rock God.

[Ed Heinzelman]

for the casual Bruce fan this is an engaging read spelling out the band's history in the 20th C. For the very serious fan who knows all of this by heart, the interest here is the various reproductions of newspaper articles, fanzines, concert tickets, backstage passes, posters, and of course the photos!!

[Desiree Koh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely informative history of the band -- if you think you know everything, you should read this. And the kid in me loved the interactive reprints of ticket stubs, programs, set lists, and more.

A great story: In November 2004, Sara and I road tripped to Nashville to see Ryan Adams perform at the Ryman Auditorium. During the day, we traipsed up and down Broadway, the town's main drag, and of course paid homage to Hatch Show Print. On the wall, there was a Hatch'd poster for the "Live in New York City" shows, and I asked how much it was. It was the last piece, and so they weren't selling it. I was disappointed, but believed that it wasn't meant to be mine.

Last Christmas, I received this book from Sara as a gift and to my pleasant surprise, a reproduction of the Hatch poster was included in a sealed envelope as part of the book! What comes around goes around!

[Zioluc · Rating 3 out of 5]

La storia di Bruce Springsteen e soprattutto della E street band (i musicisti di Human Touch/Lucky Town non sono nemmeno menzionati!), dagli esordi delle prime formazioni sulla Jersey Shore fino al 2001 di The Rising. Testo apologetico il giusto ma abbastanza preciso, e soprattutto una divertente collezione di gadget cartacei: riproduzioni di adesivi, setlist, fanzine, manifesti, biglietti (sì, anche quello di San Siro 85).
Se l'avessi avuto per le mani a 18 anni avrei pianto di gioia, oggi è "solo" un tuffo nella memoria, un viaggio musicale e un invito a considerare la carriera del boss nella sua interezza, dopo tanti anni.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not super deep, but it has many pretty, pretty pictures & cool facsimiles of things like newspaper articles from the Shore about Bruce's early bands. I also liked that the focus was very band-centric as opposed to being All About Bruce, and there was nifty info about the Shore music scene in general.

[Mike Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book, with lots of reprinted material to remove from the book and examine, including a copy of a hand written by Bruce set list from a 1999 American concert. There are also posters of his first band, Steelmill, and a plastic River tour access all areas badge, and a lot,lot more. The writing is also excellent, all in all a very good book, big, heavy and fantastic.....

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to be honest, I didn't read much of the print. I was way too distracted by all of the completely awesome Springsteen memorabilia that's tucked into the 'envelope pages' of this book. Therefore, if there are omissions or inaccuracies regarding the history of the band, they completely escaped my notice. The rest of the book is absolutely worth the money :)

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of the E Street ethos: good stories, lots of interactive additions (reproductions of fanzines, backstage passes, etc.), and lovely pictures. My Springsteen coffee table book. Well, one of them. (:

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice history of the band from its earliest years. Comes with lots of replica memorabilia which adds to the fun.

[Kitty-Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super regalo de Reyes. Espero leerlo en breve.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Comprehensive look at the E Street Band, A must read for any Springsteen fan.

[Sean Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable. Even made me (briefly) want to listen to 'Nebraska' again.

[Laurie Ather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend let me borrow this book and it's brilliant for any and all Springsteen fan.

[Ealopez826 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome awesome book for huge fans. I love how cool and interactive this book was.